Here are some reflections after watching the first game in ten years at Lambeau field that I have not attended.

No surprise at all here about Aaron Rodgers. As I have told people for four years and espoused here in this space for a month, Aaron will be fine and probably better than fine. He has a big arm, is off-the-charts bright, has natural leadership skills, and has a healthy confidence that has served him well during this summers drama. The head coach and general manager are big fans of his; his teammates adore him; he lives with an assistant trainer who is also a team favorite; and he has friends on the team at all levels, from practice squad players to stars. His mobility brings another dimension to the Packers that they have not had. As I have answered thousands of times over the past three years, Aaron Rodgers is a good, good quarterback and could be special.

The other Aaron, Kampman, may still be the most underrated player in the league. He has received some notoriety over the past couple years with his top-of-the-NFL sack totals, but one rarely hears his name in the same breath as players like Shawne Merriman, Jason Taylor, Osi Umenyiora, and, of course, Jared Allen. Allen made 31M in guaranteed money this offseason and was featured in Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, ESPN Magazine, and other national publications. He was an admitted character risk. Kampman, who is making 21M on his four-year deal an amount we at the Packers were criticized for overpaying him volunteered for weeks in relief of tornado-ravaged Iowa and barely had an article written about him. Ill take Kampman over any defensive end in the league (and so would many front office people).

Another free agent for whom the Vikings paid dearly, Bernard Berrian, was hardly impressive last night. His 16M in guarantees wont be money well spent with a quarterback that struggles. Greg Jennings, a second-round pick in 2006, is a budding star that Aaron Rodgers will make look better and better. I know I am biased as a former Packer, but again, I would take Jennings over Berrian and most other receivers. Jennings was a whos he? pick when the pundits clamored that we passed on Chad Jackson, who was released by the Patriots last week.

Sometimes the axiom You have to run the ball and stop the run! makes sense, but usually not. The Vikings are a shining example of such. They run the ball well. They stop the run. They were leaders in both categories last year and finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs. A team has to be able to throw the ball and get easier chunks of yardage to win the game. They do not appear to be a contending team even though they can run and stop the run. Now we understand more fully their clandestine courting of Brett Favre.

Brad Childress was on his way to Green Bay to interview with us after his interview with the Vikings. That fact alone made the Vikings react emotionally and sign him for five years. Now five losses and zero wins later against the Packers, one wonders if the Vikings are questioning whether they should have let him get on that plane to Green Bay.

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